Canelés de Bordeaux
Canelés de Bordeaux are one of my favorite pastries of all time. They have a remarkable texture - it's a custard dessert so the interior is soft and creamy, but it's sharply contrasted with the crispy exterior. This textural contrast is really what distinguishes caneles from other pastries. They're somewhat difficult to find outside of French cafes/bakeries, so I wanted to give them a try myself. They're traditionally made in special molds, but obviously I didn't have them so I made them in a muffin tin instead (recipe from FoodWishes). It worked out pretty well and I'd definitely recommend giving them a try, that being said there's still a lot of room for improvement on my end.
Active Time: 40 min
Total Time: 1 hr 30 min
Ingredients
Custard:
> 1 cup all purpose flour
> 1 cup granulated sugar
> 4 egg yolks
> 2 cups whole milk
> 2 tbsp butter
> 1 tsp vanilla extract
> 1/4 cup dark rum
> pinch of salt
Coating for pan:
> 2 tbsp butter
> 2 tbsp beeswax
Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, add all purpose flour, sugar, egg yolks, salt, vanilla, and rum. Using a spatula, press and mix until the consistency becomes that of a smooth paste.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat up 2 tbsp butter and milk over medium high heat. Once the milk starts to simmer, turn off the heat immediately.
3. Add the milk mixture into the custard by tempering it. Add half at first, mix until incorporated, then add the remaining half and mix thoroughly. This in theory will prevent the eggs from scrambling.
4. Meanwhile, in a pan melt 2 tbsp butter and beeswax over medium heat.
5. Use a pastry brush to lather butter/beeswax mixture in the muffin tin mold, all the way up and down the sides.
6. Pour the batter into the muffin tin holes, almost all the way up but not quite all the way.
7. Transfer to the center of a 450 degree oven and bake for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 50 minutes, or until well browned.
8. Remove the tray from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Remove the caneles from the molds and let cool on a wire rack, using a knife to release them if necessary.
9. Let cool to room temperature. Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Traditionally, caneles are prepared with dark rum, which supposedly provides a nice flavor kick. But if you don't have dark rum, various other liquors would also work. I used some cognac and it turned out pretty well.
> I was originally very surprised about the use of beeswax in making caneles. I didn't know it was even used in cooking. However, it's actually a fairly essential ingredient - it helps create the crispy exterior crust when it cools and hardens, which gives the canele its distinctive character. Beeswax can be fairly difficult to find in most grocery stores. Your best bet is actually to look for it at a hardware store or in the cosmetics section of pharmacies.
> It is important that you let it cool before eating! Without doing so, the crust won't form properly and you won't get that beautiful contrast in texture that characterizes caneles. That being said, also don't let it stay out for too long, otherwise it loses that crispness.
> I've never tried this myself, but I think that these would go beautifully with some tea, whether as afternoon tea or as something more along the lines of brunch.